Here is hoping you had a great Easter Weekend, worshipping the King of all Kings...back to the 'temporary life' here in fallen creation. Real talk on real issues for real people, as we make a determined commitment to live by Kingdom reality over creation's practicality.

HOW ABOUT A LOOK AT JOHN MCCAIN'S PASTOR...

John McCain's Phoenix pastor, Dan Yeary, is a folksy patriotic Southern Baptist who opposes abortion and believes homosexuality to be a biblical sin, but says Christians have an obligation to love such sinners. That puts Yeary, who heads the church attended for the past 15 years by the Republican presidential candidate firmly in the U.S. Southern Baptist mainstream, and in line with the Republican Party. He offers a sharp contrast to Democratic contender Barack Obama's former preacher Jeremiah Wright, who has stirred controversy with his fiery comments on race and America. Rueters This says nothing about anything, other than the fact that the two pastors have two different focuses; from my opinion, one places faith in social politics and the other places faith in a Kingdom higher than votes, social programs and man's legislation.

BAPTISM MEANS TO BE IMMERSED, THIS MAN IS NOW BAPTISED...

Italy's most prominent Muslim, an iconoclastic writer who condemned Islamic extremism and defended Israel, converted to Catholicism Saturday in a baptism by the pope at a Vatican Easter service. An Egyptian-born, non-practicing Muslim who is married to a Catholic, Magdi Allam infuriated some Muslims with his books and columns in the newspaper Corriere della Sera newspaper, where he is a deputy editor. He titled one book "Long Live Israel." AP 

WOMEN MUST FIND THERE PLACE, NO TEACHING...

Leaders of a prominent Southern Baptist seminary who believe women are biblically forbidden from teaching men were within their rights when they told a female professor to leave, a federal judge has ruled. Sheri Klouda was the only female professor teaching at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's School of Theology when officials decided not to renew her contract in 2006. Klouda claimed seminary officials breached an oral contract guaranteeing she would remain employed if her performance was favorable. Seminary officials said their action was based on ecclesiastical decisions protected under the First Amendment's religion clauses. U.S. District Judge John McBryde agreed, dismissing Klouda's claims Wednesday. Houston Chronicle 

FRIDAY'S TOPIC WILL RETURN IN THE FUTURE...

It's becoming increasingly important to find the up-close parking: The mother of two toddlers is 7 1/2 months pregnant, and walking long distances is getting more taxing on her lungs, more painful on her feet. What if she, and other women in their third trimester of pregnancy, could park in a spot reserved for the disabled? That's what a Southern California lawmaker is proposing to his colleagues in the state Legislature, though his measure is getting a chilly reception among interest groups outside the Capitol. AB 1940 would declare all women in their final three months of pregnancy, and through their first two months after giving birth, as having a "temporary disability." They could then pay $6 to the Department of Motor Vehicles to access any disabled spot in California marked with a blue and white wheelchair symbol for that five-month period. San Jose Mercury News 

DOGS AT WORK DAY FOR CALFORNIA...

No, the Legislature is not going to the dogs – despite Assembly Concurrent Resolution 103. The "Take Your Dog to Work Day" resolution urges employers to honor canines on June 20 in the same way that they set aside one day per year for employees to bring a child to their job site. Assemblyman George Plescia, R-La Jolla, said he owns two dogs and proposed the resolution to promote a movement by Pet Sitters International and to emphasize that canines make great companions. Sacramento Bee 

BLACK CHURCHES FEATURE THE EMOTIONAL, PASSIONATE SERMONS...

The Rev. Amos Brown's Easter sermon at the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco didn't have much to do with Jesus' crucifixion or resurrection from the dead and instead covered everything from skyrocketing gas prices and the subprime mortgage crisis to race relations in the United States and presidential politics. During his fiery Sunday morning speech, he called President Bush a "one-eyed man," told the predominantly African American congregation that the country is as segregated now as it was 50 years ago and said "America is running on fumes right now ... we are on the wrong road." San Francisco Chronicle